The Perfect Place
by Angeldream05
Summary: When he was there, she still wasn't. When she finally reached it, he wasn't there anymore. At last they were in the same place at the same time.


**So… my first time writing for the Castle universe… it's making me very basically wrote itself, I just had to.**

**Many thanks to my beta Shiny Shin for first feedback and title suggestion.**

**...**

**The Perfect Place**

It was all so quiet. Quiet and peaceful, even inside her head. It had been so long since her mind had felt so peaceful and relaxed. She didn't even know where she was or what had happened, she just wanted to stay right there. She felt like she was in the best place in the world. So strange and yet so familiar. Was it possible? Well, she just knew that she was in the right place, the place where she was meant to be. She could feel it.

Slowly she started to feel her own body again and, as she regained consciousness she realized that she had her eyes closed. She was asleep or… passed out? Her mind was still reacting too slowly so she didn't really know. Even if she was starting to feel a little anxious, the previous good feeling didn't disappear. Wherever she was, she was feeling good.

That hypothesis was confirmed as she realized that her body was enveloped in another one. One arm was encircling her waist, another was pillowing her head and her own hand was resting on a beating heart. On her next breath, she knew. Eyes still closed, she smiled.

She breathed him in one more time before slowly opening her eyes. The unexpected light in the room made them close again. On her next try she focused on the man next to her, his peaceful and relaxed sleeping figure making her heart swell.

That was not a dream like many others. It was real. She finally made it. _They_ finally made it.

Walls have finally crumbled down. Hearts were finally open. Feelings have finally been spoken. All was out in the open.

She just couldn't move her eyes away from him. The one other time she had found herself in that situation they had been drugged and handcuffed. She was glad that this time it was all them. She could remember her disappointment. Like the disappointment that she always felt when she woke up from one of _those_ dreams.

She lifted her head from his arm and just looked down at him with wonder. Apparently he felt the loss as his arm moved slightly, trying to find contact again.

It was not one of those dreams. That was real. The memories, the night before, it was all so real. It was. Still, something deep down inside her made her unsure. Somehow she was still terrified that he was going to fade away under her very hands and she would find herself alone in her cold bed, alone with her fears and her scars.

Never taking her eyes away from him, slowly she lifted her hand to his sleeping face and softly caressed his cheek, moving down to his jaw. Softly and feather-like, just with her fingertip, she needed him not to disappear. He didn't. This time he didn't. He smiled instead.

She carefully brushed his lower lip with her thumb and his mouth opened under her touch, sighing one single word.

Her breath choked up as the smallest sob came out of her mouth. It was real. She closed her eyes as a slow tear rolled down her cheek. It was real. She brushed it away and looked down at him again smiling. It was real.

It was real, it was real, it was real.

Laying her head again on his arm again, she snuggled more against him in relief, her face inches from his, and just listened to his breath, to his heart beating. His arm wrapped even more around her waist. He was still asleep, she could tell from his breathing, steady and slow. She had no idea what time it was and honestly, she couldn't care less. It could have been 3pm and she still wouldn't have wanted to get out of bed and break that blissful moment. His breath soft on her skin, his scent all around her and the rise and fall of his chest lulled her back to sleep.

When she woke up again to that peaceful feeling she didn't need to convince herself that it wasn't a dream, she already knew it wasn't. His body was still around her, holding her as if he never wanted to let go. Even before she opened her eyes she could feel that he was awake. His heartbeat under her fingers was stronger and his thumb was softly stroking her upper arm, gentle and reassuring.

When she opened her eyes she wasn't surprised to find his, clear and blue , looking at her with such tenderness and love that made her head spin.

His hand joined her smaller one on his chest, encasing it protectively over his heart. She looked down at them and smiled as she let her fingers intertwine with his. His steady, reassuring heartbeat helped her to stay focused. They were together. In this, they were together.

She wasn't alone anymore. No more empty beds, no more fears. And with him, her scars were finally ready to heal.

Kate looked back up at him and that time the certainty and confidence in her eyes mirrored his.

They didn't say anything, not yet. It wasn't necessary. Maybe there weren't even words available. They just stared into each other's eyes and they knew all there was to know.

She knew.

She knew that was how she wanted to wake up, who she wanted to wake up to every day. Those eyes, that smile, that man. She knew. She really was where she was meant to be. For once, they both were.

For years when he was there, she still wasn't. When she finally reached it, he wasn't there anymore. And in a moment, just as she thought that she had lost it all, everything she ever wanted had happened. At last they were in the same place at the same time.

They slowly moved closer to each other and their lips met in the middle. It was soft, gentle and still tentative, but they both felt it.

After years of always being in different places, always circling and chasing each other, they had finally met.

**...**


End file.
